Thunder And Lightning: Extreme Rules 2012 Predictions

Joe Thunder and Mike Lightning proudly present to you their official thoughts and predictions for the 2012 Extreme Rules ppv event! If you’ve followed us on facebook, you’ll know that we’ve been predicting match outcomes for shows since September, and we decided for 2012 that we would compare results and have an actual competition. That said, here we go!

Miz vs Santino Marella for the United States Championship

JT: The Miz has a bright future ahead, despite this rut that he continues to go through. He’s one of the most charismatic young heels we’ve seen in years and works his ass off in the ring. I’m truly disappointed that WWE is choosing to hold him down for whatever reason, storyline or otherwise. Santino has proven his worth in the ring and there’s no doubts about his longstanding popularity amongst viewers. This guy could be elevated in the right way to the top, but I don’t think he necessarily needs that. He provides value to the show just how he is. This should be a really good match for these two, and I actually believe it could be possible for the US Title to change hands on the pre-show. This goes against the rumors of Otunga having the US Title, but I’m going to predict that the Miz becomes the new US Champion this Sunday.

ML: I know this match is technically on the “prelim” card but I’m going to predict a winner either way. With absolutely no buildup for this card and The Miz’s absence from TV in the recent weeks, this match is understandably not on the PPV card. Santino’s title reign has been something of a joke, which isn’t really surprising considering his gimmick. His matches feel as if the only reason they’re there is to have a comedy relief moment. And it’s too bad, because Santino can wrestle. The Miz, in my opinion, should be furious. He’s been relegated to SuperStars for the moment and he hasn’t been on TV. He only got two pinfalls since he ended his losing streak at WrestleMania and they both came at Zack Ryder’s expense. If it is true, and the WWE has something big in store for The Miz, the outcome of this match could have some major implications on the WWE Title Match later in the night (I’ll speculate further when I get to the WWE Title Match).

Prediction – Santino Marella will retain his United State Championship

Nikkie Bella vs Beth Phoenix for the Divas Championship

JT: Beth is injured; it’s a work. The Bellas now have a switcharoo routine that could help them hold onto the title for some time. I’m going to predict that if this match actually happens, Nikki retains the title with some help from Brie. However, if Beth is declared too hurt to compete and has a replacement(Kharma, anyone?), then I would expect to see a new Divas Champion this Sunday.

ML: So, Beth Phoenix’s ankle injury was kayfabe. We get it. But does this rematch make any sense to anybody, especially if you’re going to go in the direction of a kayfabe injury storyline? Speculation is the WWE did it so Kharma and Beth don’t have to face each other right off and Kharma can close the storyline from a year ago with the Bella Twins. Alright, that’s fine by me, but with the Bella Twins leaving in less than a week, couldn’t the WWE have picked someone else? Natalya, maybe? Have Kharma crush Nikki Bella another way and then have Beth win the title back if that’s what you really wanted to do? Of course, nothing has been confirmed about Kharma’s return, it’s just what the WWE wanted to do and that’s how they went about it. There’s been no word if the Bellas have resigned or not but either way this match will be painful to watch.

Prediction – Beth Phoenix to win back the WWE Divas Title

Randy Orton vs Kane in a Falls Count Anywhere match

JT:The fans win with this one when we get to watch these two destroy each other. These two have been so good at beating the hell out of one another; how can you not be looking forward to more of it? This should probably wrap up their series, and I expect the viper to come out on top as he heads towards his rumored Summerslam rivalry with Brock Lesnar. Orton wins; Kane finds a new face to rival with (Undertaker???).

ML: The WWE must have felt that this feud was really basic, too. They decided to get personal with it when Kane attacked Orton and then the other night Orton putting Paul Bearer into the freezer. This feud has started to build way better than the buildup to WrestleMania where all they did was beat the hell out of each other. We got a preview of this match a few weeks ago on Smackdown in a street fight as well. This will be the closing chapter on this feud as well and my guess is, Randy Orton will be the SuperFace waiting in the wings for another World Title shot. Kane will probably be thrusted back into another storyline where he randomly attacks someone else. Maybe “Cowboy” Bob Orton gets involved somehow?

Prediction – Randy Orton

Big Show vs Cody Rhodes in a Spin the Wheel match for the Intercontinental Championship

JT: If I were booking this match, I’d make it a last man standing match and have Big Show win it with the WMD. I don’t think it helps Cody move forward to regain the title. The flip side to this would for WWE to have Del Rio interfere on Rhodes behalf and for Cody to win the belt back. What would Cody do if he won the title back? Show keeping the title means a rivalry with Del Rio, and then maybe even some matches with some of the new guys like Cesaro and Sandow. It makes far more sense for Show to hold onto the title in this one, and that’s what I believe will happen.

ML: This is rematch #1 from WrestleMania and the stipulation for this Extreme Rules’ match will be added on Sunday before the match. I felt that with Big Show winning the title from Cody at Mania, the WWE was going to start working Rhodes into the World Title scene. But instead, Alberto Del Rio comes back from injury and they usher him to the top of the picture by making him the “man” waiting in the wings. Obviously, they needed to close this chapter of Daniel Bryan and Sheamus, but to continue to Rhodes with Big Show has done nothing for Rhodes. Big Show has yet to defend his IC Title since winning it, I’m not really surprised Cody went two months without defending it at one point. These two should end up beating the hell of each other in some capacity.

Prediction – Cody Rhodes to win back the IC Title

Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan in a 2 out of 3 Falls match for the World Heavyweight Championship

JT: WWE finally succeeded at turning the yes chants around on Bryan this past Friday on Smackdown. These two could finally have their chance to steal the show and prove to the world what they’re capable of in the ring. I’m excited for this match. I don’t think these two will stop feuding anytime soon, and I don’t expect Sheamus to lose the title so soon after Mania. I predict that the great white wins this match and proves why he deserves to be World Champion.

ML: Lose a title in 18 seconds, become a megastar with the crowd. That’s Daniel Bryan’s current motto and it couldn’t ring any truer. The ridiculousness of how his popularity took off with the crowd was awesome to see. The growing popularity started on the NIGHT he lost the title. Sheamus seems to have been losing his momentum with the crowd since winning the title, I’m not really sure if that’s his fault, though. Daniel Bryan’s growing fanbase and the fact the WWE has trained Sheamus into a good little SuperFace probably are the two biggest contributing factors behind the “boo”s I’ve been hearing when Sheamus comes out.

Prediction – Sheamus to retain the World Heavyweight Championship

CM Punk vs Chris Jericho in a Street Fight for the WWE Championship

JT: Their match at Mania was technical and exciting to watch. This match will be brutal and exciting in it’s own way. If they take the hatred that we see in the promos every week and really put it to good work, this match could be one of the most intense street fights we’ve ever seen. It’s all about taking what they’ve built and putting it into the ring and arena(and possibly the surrounding area of the building) and telling one helluva story. Everyone keeps saying that the storyline of Jericho’s return needs some justification and that’s why he needs to win the title here. I agree with them, and that’s why I’m predicting Y2J to win the WWE Title this Sunday at Extreme Rules.

ML: In 2011 at Money in the Bank, CM Punk won the WWE Title from John Cena and “left” the WWE, in his hometwon of Chicago. Almost a year later, back in his hometown, Punk strolls in the WWE Champion. Jericho has been psychologically getting to Punk over the past few weeks, but this past week Punk got the upper hand by trolling on Jericho. I’m excited for this match because we know Punk can go extreme when need be and we’ve all seen Jericho do it. I don’t expect this match to be pretty in the sense of wrestling ability or appearance but I expect it to be highly entertaining. I mentioned earlier that the outcome of the US Title Match could effect the outcome of this match, because my thoery, this is only thoery of course, is that Jericho could win the title and end up facing The Miz, who will turn face, over the whole “copycat” issue until about SummerSlam. And then Punk would be thrusted into some random feud (probably Lord Tensai) for a month or two. I doubt that will happen, though, but it’s just my theory.

Prediction – CM Punk to retain the WWE Title

QuickNote: I originally picked Chris Jericho to win. I didn’t pick Punk because he’s in his hometown, we’ve all seen this before “hometown” advantage doesn’t always work. I just feel that right now if the title was to switch hands that this feud would need to go one more month….and I don’t know how much further you can enhance this storyline.

Brock Lesnar vs John Cena in an Extreme Rules match

JT: We know Lesnar can’t cut a promo to save his life. That aside, there are a lot of people that are excited for this match; I’ve been one of them all along. However, don’t be surprised if this match flops like Cena/Kane at the Elimination Chamber event. Lesnar is a great wrestler, and Cena is an average wrestler. A lot of really great wrestlers have made Cena look good in the ring, but in my opinion, Lesnar isn’t in the same category as those great wrestlers(Angle, HBK, Mysterio, ect). This match could really be a snooze to close out the night. Cena’s downward spiral is going to continue, and the reason I say that is because it would make ZERO sense for Brock to lose this match after having such a hyped return with so many big rivalries planned for the next year. Cena winning means he would just be Super-Cena again. It won’t happen. Cena loses this match and becomes even more bland and frustrated as a character. Maybe he’ll win at Over the Limit if they have a rematch(check his track record for this ppv; it’s pretty solid). Official prediction: Brock Lesnar wins his return match in WWE.

ML: I’ll keep this pretty short without laying into Lesnar’s terrible Monday Promo too badly. This match feels rushed especially with only three weeks of buildup time. I’m going to guess that this won’t be the first match between these two over the next couple months. I would really like to think that this match could end up with a clear cut winner, but I’m not 100% sure we’ll see that. I know it’s an Extreme Rules match but this whole match has a Kane/Cena Royal Rumble feeling to it. It’ll be interesting to see how this is done, for sure.

Prediction – Brock Lesnar

QuickNote: I would like to say John Cena, but it would make ZERO sense for Cena to beat Lesnar, especially now, after his loss to The Rock at WrestleMania and the loss to Lord Tensai two weeks ago on Raw. And since, I don’t speculate on No Contest finishes or DQ finishes, I picked Lesnar for the aforementioned reason. Cena losing to both The Rock and Lord Tensai make it almost impossible for me to believe that he’ll beat Lesnar.

Final Thoughts:

ML: So, I toggled back and forth with a lot of matches and their outcomes. I was trying to think like the WWE instead of thinking like myself when predicting this card (because we all know that Lightning, Thunder and Jace Ace can outthink the WWE “creative” staff any day of the week). I’m hoping this Extreme Rules ends up being better than the last two. Two years ago was AWFUL, beyond AWFUL. So bad, I decided to not watch last year’s.

JP: This show is usually a dud overall in terms of ppv quality, but I actually have higher expectations for this one. I’m thinking we might have one or two impromptu matches involving guys like Lord Tensai, Zack Ryder, Brodus Clay, and Vickie’s stable. We’ll see what happens. So far for the year, Lightning has predicted 27 out of 45 matches correctly, and I’ve predicted 28 correctly. We disagree a lot, but somehow we come out almost even. It’s a head scratcher for sure. This show has seven matches, and we’ve disagreed on four of them. The results should be interesting. Thanks for checking this out and for reading this far down the page! Until next time, this has been Thunder and Lightning’s Take!